Chartreuse Seed
by Humor Queen Merc
Summary: The second generation of the Blue Seed world is being challeneged by a new breed of Aragami. Can Momiji and Kusanagi's daughter be spared? And who will protect her? Chapter 8 now up
1. White

Author's notes – Hey everyone, Merc here. Alright, I'm taking an omake break to present you all with this new series. It's a serious series, like Rebuilding, only it's not romantic. This is also going to be co-authored with Schally (webmistress of Schally's Blue Seed Page), so credit goes out to her too. I hope you all enjoy, Schally and I are planning on making this about 10 chapters long, so sit back and enjoy the ride! Oh, and I've got another omake in the works, so don't think that I've abandoned omake writing just yet. 

Rated – G (but that'll change over time)

By – Merc and Schally

First Chapter by – Merc

**Chartreuse Seed**

            Koume peered over the railing of the crib lovingly. Inside lay the newest additions to her family, her twins. Only two days old, it was the babies' first day at home. Taking a chair, Koume sat down and looked at her small children. The sun showed through a nearby window, lighting up the freshly decorated room, its walls a pale blue with clouds sponge-painted on. Koume smiled as she thought of how much preparation her husband and her had made for the children, and how much it had paid off. Hearing footsteps, she looked up to see her husband as he approached the crib.

            "Are they sleeping?" He asked with a smile,

            "Yeah. They're so beautiful." Koume said as she stood up and gave her husband a hug.

            "It looks as though they've swapped characteristics, don't they? Our son looks like you and our daughter looks like me." He said as he hugged her back, his eyes never leaving the two infants that laid quietly in the crib.

            "I never in a million years thought something like this would happen. But look at me now, I have a family. I love you so much Yoshiki." She said with tears in her eyes. Yaegashi looked at his wife strangely, unaccustomed to her acting so lovingly. _"Well, the doctor did warn us about the hormonal adjustments after giving birth that she'd be going through for the next week or so." He thought to himself as he tried to explain his wife's odd behavior. _

            "Everything is so perfect. Can you believe it? First Momiji and that plant boy get engaged, then Ryoko gets pregnant, and now our little bundles of joy. Am I in heaven?" Koume asked as she buried her head into her husband's shoulder. Yaegashi, not one to complain about the fact that his wife was hugging him rather than beating him up, held her tighter. 

            "I love you." He whispered into her hair.

            "I love you too." She whispered back as she felt him push her back and give her a kiss. 

A few months later the couple stood outside of a large chaple in Izumo, Koume in a bridesmaids gown (which she hated) and Yaegashi dressed his finest. The two stood on opposite ends and watched as their very good friend Momiji and their not-so-very-good-friend Kusanagi said their wedding vows. 

"Momiji looks so beautiful." Ryoko whispered quietly into Koume's ear. Koume simply nodded, for while she didn't much care for Kusanagi, she did care about her friend's happiness, and if that plant boy was who she loved, then she could see no one better for her to marry.

"I was so sure they'd have a falling out." Sakura whispered on the other end of Koume, causing the redhead to get angry and stomp on her foot.

"Just shut up and be happy." She said as she looked up to see one of her best friends give her newfound husband a kiss. The couple then walked out of the chapel and into the warm spring air. Koume ran up to Momiji and gave her a hard slap on the back.

"Way to go kiddo!" She said as Momiji looked at her and laughed sheepishly. Koume's smile then turned into a severe frown as she looked at Kusanagi.

"You hurt her and I swear there won't be anyplace you can hide from me and my wrath!" Koume threatened as she brandished her fist at the half-Aragami. Kusanagi shot her a glare and with a chuckle, put his arm around Momiji.

"Whatever." He said as he gave her a noogie, causing some of her carefully crafted hair to get tussled.

"Hey!" She exclaimed as she lightly punched him in the side. 

"Now is that any way to treat your new husband?" Kusanagi asked as he swept her off of her feet and twirled her around, her happy giggles echoing throughout the area. 

"May your children have a single set of eyebrows and normal eyes." A drunken Sugishita yelled at the couple's direction as he got into the Kunikida family car to head over to the reception. The comment caught everyone off guard, and the most they could muster was a bewildered stare, followed by the closing of their hanging jaws.

Finding her husband, Koume ran over to him and grabbed his arm.

"We're headed over to the reception. See ya there!" She said as she yanked him away from a crowd of men that he had been talking to at the time. 

"Mom, Kazuo and I are going over to Akina's house for awhile!" Fourteen year-old Midori yelled to her mother as she ran to the front of the house and put on her shoes. Koume, hearing this from the other end of the house, trotted over to her teenage daughter. Stopping at the door, she watched the young brown-haired beauty as she finished putting on her shoes.

"You changed out of your uniform _already?" Koume asked in astonishment,_

"Yeah, new record too, only took two minutes!" She said as she gave a victory pose, her fingers spread in a v shape to signal her triumph. "I beat Kazuo by thirty seconds. And they say that girls are supposed to be slow at that sort of thing." 

"You only beat me because those stupid pants that they make us wear have the most impossible-to-unbuckle belts." A male voice said behind Koume. Turning around, she saw her son dressed to go out, his almost shoulder-length red hair pulled back in a ponytail. 

"Just be back by seven ok? I'm making dinner tonight." Koume said as she pointed to the twins' watches.

"_You're cooking?!" The twins yelled out in surprise as they stared at their mother. _

"Yup! Your father is out late doing some field research with Matsudaira tonight and seeing as how I stayed home from work today because of a migraine that I had this morning, I called him and told him that I'd cook."

"I thought you said you were sick with the flu." Kazuo said as he eyed his mom suspiciously,

"Er, well…" Koume stammered,

"I thought you said that only weak people let headaches get in the way of work." Midori said as she pointed into the air, trying to stress the comment. Koume, knowing that she had dug herself a hole too deep to get out of, threw up her hands in defeat and gave a disgruntled sigh.

"Look, just be back by seven, ok? And don't go asking Momiji to stay over for dinner like you did the last time I cooked. Oh, and also, quit trying to provoke those blades out of Akina's arms. I don't think I need to remind you what happened last time." 

"Jeez mom, you're actually starting to sound like Mrs. Kusanagi." Midori said as she opened up the door and, along with her brother, ran outside. Koume, completely taken aback by the comment, ran to the door.

"NO WAY IN HELL DO I SOUND LIKE MOMIJI!!!" She yelled after her children. "The thought that I'd sound like some sort of, of, weak _normal mother…ARGH!!!" Koume said as she slammed the door. Even though she hated the thought of being perceived as a normal housewife, Koume couldn't help but smile at her children's comments. _

The past decade had been a rather quiet one for the Yaegashi family, though it had never been without its joys. Koume and her husband still worked, Koume refusing to give up her post in the TAC to be a housewife. Ms. Matsudaira stayed within the TAC, acting as a go-between between them and the Ministry of Science and Technology. Still the workaholic that she once was, she had since made a lot more time for her son and ex-husband's outings, although with her son now out of college, their outings mainly consisted of intellectual conversations over biology and chemical compounds at a tea house. Ryoko and Kunakida had gotten married shortly after Koume and Yaegashi had, and had a son named Makoto who was now the age of 13. The two lived peacefully, Ryoko giving up her post at the TAC to become a full time mother, and Kunikida keeping up the tasks of being the boss of the TAC. Lastly, Momiji and Kusanagi had not only married, but had a daughter by the name of Akina, who was 12. 

After Kusanagi and Momiji were married, the Kusanagi family and the Yaegashi family had become very close friends. The adults would meet almost daily to talk and have tea, while the children constantly played together. Though Akina was two years younger than the Yaegashi twins, the three didn't seem to mind the age difference and were practically inseparable. 

Akina was a most interesting girl, for while she had the burdens of the Kushinada passed down to her, she also had the burden of being one-third Aragami as well. Her hair and body resembled that of Momiji's, but she had two eyebrows (much to the interest of Matsudaira), cat eyes, and the same blades that her father had in both of her arms. For someone brought up by Kusanagi, Akina appeared almost abnormally happy, always cheerful. Her grades reflected that of Momiji's departed twin sister Kaede, but her klutziness made it known that she was definitely Momiji's daughter. The two families lived a block away from each other, and thus the children would always hang out at one or another's house. Akina's physical differences were cause for the Yaegashi twins' teasing, them always trying to find new uses for Akina's ("cool") arm-blades. 

After originally dissolving during the Suzano-oh attacks, the TAC was reinstated when the incidents in San Francisco had occurred. As a precaution, the government decided to instill the TAC as a permanent branch and, along with a new larger budget, hired some new employees to accompany the old TAC alumnus when needed. Koume considered them all to be weak and scrawny, and her husband was equally unsettled about their inexperience with anything remotely related to Aragami. 

Later on that night, Koume served up dinner for her family. 

"Oh my God, it actually looks edible." Kazuo said as he poked his portion with a chopstick. 

"Watch out, looks can be deceiving." Midori said laughingly as she made a face at the plate in front of her. Koume gave a huff and began eating. 

"I'd like to see you do better." She said with her mouth full. Suddenly, the sound of a door closing was heard, followed by a set of heavy footsteps.

"That must be Yoshiki." Koume said as she stood up and went to greet her husband home from work. Walking into the front room, Koume became startled when she saw the gruff look on Yaeashi's face.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" She asked as she quickened her stride up to him. Yaegashi gave his wife a forlorn look and took her hands in his.

"We were out in the field doing research, right? Well, guess what we found? He asked as he looked into his wife's eyes with sadness.

"What?" Koume asked, a growing sense of foreboding crawling up her spine. 

"The Aragami are back." He said as he looked down at the floor and shook his head. Koume put her hand over her mouth in shock.

"Oh God. What are we going to do about Akina?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around her husband as she tried to push away the notion that Momiji and Kusanagi's daughter might have to be sacrificed. Yaegashi opened his mouth to answer, then quickly shut it when he heard two stifled gasps from his right side. Turning his head, he made out the silhouettes of his two children pressed up against the wall. 

"Akina…" He heard Midori whisper in fear,

**End of Chapter 1**

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**Please review! Otherwise, check out Schally's Blue Seed Page at http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/7934/bseed.htm. To contact either Schally or me, it's best to review, but if you REALLY want to talk to us, we're both on her message board (Mostly Cloudy BB) at http://mostlycloudy.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi?s=3dd87961071fffff;act=SC;c=4: Be sure to post comments in the Blue Seed Fanfics and Fanart Forum. Otherwise, my e-mail is on my bio, and Schally's is schally@juno.com.  **


	2. Blue

Author's notes – Ok, here's the deal. Schally and I are writing ever other chapter, so I do chapters 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9, while Schally does chapters 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 (if it ends at 10 that is). Basically that means that this chapter is Schally's piece, I hope you all enjoy! 

Rated – PG-13 (Koume, Koume, Koume, you'd think that after 14 years of being a mom that you'd clean up your language a little bit)

By – Merc and Schally

Second Chapter by - Schally

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**Chartreuse Seed**

            "It doesn't make sense," Matsudaria murmured, her voice faint both from distraction and tiredness.  It had been a long day and she wasn't used to onsite research.  She clicked idly through several pages of onscreen data before leaning back in her chair, brushing back the stray lock of black hair that always seemed to free itself from her carefully-styled bun.  "None of this evidence correlates with what we know about the Aragami."

            "Well, 'splain it to me anyway, Matsu.  Use little words if you have to."  Koume buttoned the top of her trademark pink jumpsuit and sat down in her chair.  She and Yaegashi had both agreed to meet Matsudaria at the TAC headquarters, leaving the twins with the understanding that they were to brush their teeth and go to bed after finishing dinner. 

            Matsu leaned forward, steepling her fingers under her chin.  "The last time the Aragami awakened it was because twin Kushinada were born, creating a disturbance that disrupted their sleep.  We learned that this hibernation was caused by the Kushinada pulse—Momiji used that pulse to put the Aragami to rest again, and she has now given birth to a single daughter who carries the bloodline."

            "Right, right.  No twins, so what's the problem?"

            Matsu nodded.  Yaegashi handed her a cup of hot coffee, which he had just poured from the office pot, and she accepted it gratefully.  "However, Akina is not an ordinary girl.  Like Kusanagi, she has some of the powers of the Aragami.  It's possible that Kusanagi's Aragami genes may have somehow reacted to Momiji's Kushinada genes, though how or to what extent I cannot say."

            "If the birth of twins was enough to upset the Aragami's sleep before, maybe the birth of a single child with Kushinada and Aragami blood could have been the trigger for their reawakening," Yaegashi added.  "That's our working hypothesis, anyway."  He offered a cup of coffee to Koume, who refused.  

            "Damn, these monsters are really starting to piss me off," Koume said.  Both her husband and her co-worker gave her weak smiles, but she only scowled back.  Normally, she would have loved the opportunity to kill more monsters.  But that was before the twins.  She had a family to take care of, now, and the Aragami were only getting in the way.

            "Our main priority is protecting Akina," Matsudaria continued.  "The rite of Matsuri is very draining.  Momiji barely survived.  To a child so young, it could be fatal.  We're hoping to use the Kushinada Pulse as an alternative.  We've been continually improving the pulse's efficiency, but it isn't perfected yet…"  Matsu sat her cup down on the table, glancing over at her computer screen.  "We didn't expect the Aragami to wake again.  Not so soon."

            Yaegashi also averted his eyes, opting to look down into the depths of his coffee cup.  Both he and Matsudaria had been assigned to the aptly renamed Kushinada Pulse Project.  They hadn't really slacked off on the research, but they had taken their time.  Maybe if they had moved faster, or worked harder, they might have had a viable Kushinada Pulse to use if a situation like this arose…

            Koume clapped her hand on his knee, startling him, and he looked up.  She gave him a fierce look.  "Don't even start that," she snapped, and Yaegashi smiled.  His wife knew him well.  "Nobody saw this coming."  She stood up, knocking her rolling chair back several feet.  "This sure is a lousy time for the boss to be gone."  Kunikida had left earlier that week to visit an old friend, taking Ryoko with him and entrusting his son in the hands of Ryoko's parents. 

            "I sent word to Mr. Kunikida as soon as we found out," Yaegashi told her.  "He and Ryoko are on their way back.  They should be here within a day."

            "So now what do we do?" Koume asked.

            "Mr. Yaegashi and I are going to start working on pulse calibrations as soon as possible.  The sooner we perfect the pulse, the sooner we can send the Aragami into hibernation again.  I've already spoken with Momiji and she agreed to meet us at the lab within the hour."

            "Why all the rush?" Koume asked, frowning.  "If this is anything like the last time, it'll take months before big pods start popping up."

            Matsu and Yaegashi exchanged a look.  Matsu cleared her throat.  "If the Aragami were aware of the ceramic field when it was initially developed, surely they are aware that we have developed a way to duplicate the Kushinada pulse.  They may also know that we are close to developing a completed version—a pulse so accurate that the Kushinada will not need to perform the rite of Matsuri.  The Aragami have proven to be strategically clever in the past.  They will probably attempt to kill the Kushinada before we can complete a perfected form of the pulse."

            Yaegashi nodded.  "Even if they kill the Kushinada outside of a ceramic field and force themselves into hibernation, they will still gain an advantage over us," he said.  "We'll never get to complete the pulse, and eventually they may have an opportunity to awaken again.  The Aragami are an ancient race, after all.  They've got all the time in the world."  Yaegashi pushed his glasses up on his nose.  "What bad luck…"

            "You're damn right it's bad luck," Koume said, opening her locker.  "If those stinking monsters lay a finger—tentacle—whatever on Akina, I'll blow them to smithereens."  She began loading her weapons into her usual green duffel bag.  "I'll only get in the way, here.  I'll help Kusanagi guard Akina."

            Matsu stood, clicking a button on her computer.  "I'm going to start prepping my equipment," she said, stretching.  The printer hummed and began to spit out pages.  "Have Momiji bring this report when she comes down."  The biotech rubbed her forehead.  "I'd almost forgotten what it's like to have a deadline," she mused as she left the office.

            Koume didn't look up from where she was sorting her weapons.  "Yoshi, give Plant Boy a call and tell him I'm coming over."  Koume pulled out her bazooka and, after checking it over, carefully tucked it into her bag.  _Damn, I never thought I'd get to use this thing again._

            "Koume," Yaegashi began, and she waved a hand at him.

            "I know, you hate bazookas, but they're handy sometimes.  You can never be too careful."

            "No, Koume, it's not the gun," he said, and she looked up at him.  He was holding the phone receiver away from his ear, a grimace on his face.  "No one's picking up," Yaegashi said.

            Koume's hand froze halfway between the duffel bag and the locker.  _"Shit!"_

*          *          *

            "Mom is going to kill us," Kazuo whined, hefting the backpack over his shoulder.  

            "No, she won't," Midori said, shrugging into her own backpack.

            "You're right.  She'll just kill you.  Because it's your idea."

            "Look, if you wanna say, fine.  Wussy."  Midori tugged on his ponytail, an action he couldn't return since her brown, feathery hair was cut short, and had always been.  Though Kazuo, like his mother, favored long hair, his sister had always preferred a neat, trim appearance like their father's.

            Kazuo sucked in a breath.  "I'm not scared or nothin'.  I'm just saying, Mom said."

            "I know what Mom said.  And I know what Dad said, too.  Aragami.  You know what that means."

            "Yeah."  Kazuo bit his lip.  "Akina's the Kushinada, and they'll try to—"

            "They'll nothin'!" Midori countered.  "Because we're gonna protect the Kushinada, just like Mom and Dad did.  I'm gonna kill all those stinking monsters."

            The two peered out of the back kitchen window and, after seeing the coast was clear, they sneaked out into the dark backyard, weaving their way through the forest.  They'd been exploring the woods near their home for years and, over time, had made a path that lead to the relative area of the Kusanagi household's backyard.

            "I wonder what Aragami look like," Kazuo whispered after they had been walking through the shadowy trees for several minutes.

            "I dunno.  Dr. Matsu calls them plant-based life forms.  So I guess…"

            "Like trees and mushrooms and stuff?"

            "Maybe.  I've heard Mom talk about one that looked like a frog and breathed fire.  I think it really pissed her off."

            "I think they _all_ pissed Mom off."

            "True."

            The twins quieted as they neared the Kusanagis' backyard.  Midori stopped before they cleared the forest and frowned, motioning for Kazuo to stop as well.  "Mr. Kusanagi?" Midori whispered loudly.

            A favorite game of Kusanagi's was to sneak up on the twins and scare them, especially when they came over at night.  They reasoned it was because he couldn't sneak up on Akina, as her hearing was too sensitive.

            The house was silent and dark.  Kazuo cupped his hands around his mouth.  "Akina?" he called softly.

            A loud crashing noise echoed through the backyard, causing both twins to jump.  There was another crash, followed by a series of growls and yells.  Then:

            "Daddy!"

            The twins exchanged a look.  "Akina!" they said together.  The two took off towards the source of the crashes as the din continued from the side of the house.

*          *          *

            Makoto slipped the phone back into its cradle quietly, so as not to alert his grandmother of the fact that he was out of bed, and tiptoed back to the guest room.  Ever since Mr. Yaegashi had called with a message for his Dad he'd been curious.  He'd attempted, in vain, to call up Midori to ask what all the fuss was about, but no one was answering the phone.

            "This sucks," he muttered, feeling liberated at using a phrase his grandparents forbade.  He hesitated at the door to his room, then took a few more steps forward, peering into the living room.  His grandfather was asleep, snoring loudly in front of the television, and he knew that his grandmother was probably already asleep in her own bed.

            He could take his bike to the twins, couldn't he?  Maybe the phone ringer was turned off or something.  He could knock on Kazuo's window and find out what the big fuss was, right?

            But the twins' house was sort of far away from his grandparents.  It would take a while, maybe twenty minutes.  Akina's house was closer.  

            Makoto watched his grandfather snore, deliberating for a moment longer, then slipped back into his room.  He was always left out of everything.  Well, he'd just ride over to Akina's and find out exactly what the big special secret was!  He smiled at himself, knowing that Midori would be pleased with his get-go attitude, and began to pull on his jacket over his pajamas.

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**The End of Chapter 2**

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**PLEASE REVIEW!!! Alright, having said that, I hope you all enjoyed the second installment of this latest series! Yay! And be sure to check out Schally's Blue Seed Page at http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/7934/bseed.htm. Well, I guess the next chapter is up to me, so I'll see you all around very soon. Until then!**


	3. Black

Author's notes – Hey everybody! I finally got the third chapter up! Where has it been all this time? Well, after the second installment went up, finals hit at the college and I wasn't able to write anything. After finals came the holidays, which as we all know is an extremely busy time. So now that New Years is over and I have some free time, I have time to write again! Wai! Well, I hope you enjoy the third chapter. Tag team to Schally, you've got to do the fourth chapter now!

Rated – PG – 13

Third Chapter by - Merc

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**Chartreuse Seed**

**Chapter 3**

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            Kazuo and Midori dashed through the backyard to the backporch of the Kusanagi house. Trying the door only to find it locked, the twins both pounded on the door repeatedly, screaming Akina's name. Suddenly a shrill scream erupted from inside the house and all of the windows blew out. Kazuo and Midori were blown to the ground as well. 

            "OW!!!" Kazuo yelled as he felt glass shards slicing him at every angle. Midori screamed in pain as she hit the ground, her body landing on large jagged shards.

            "Daddy! _DADDY!!!" Akina's shrill voice screamed, followed by a loud roar and various thumping sounds. Worried sick about his best friend, Kazuo quickly helped Midori to her feet and ran into the house._

            "AKINA?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" He shouted as he wiped some blood from his brow. Midori hollered as she saw her young friend tear down the hall and fly down the stairs, her pale green nightgown in tatters and trailing behind her. Tears streaming down her face, Akina ran up to Kazuo and grabbed onto his waist.

            "Oh God! Oh God! Mom and dad…OH _GOD!!!"__ Akina screamed in a panic as she pointed upwards towards the stairs. Practically hyperventilating by this point, Midori ran up next to Akina and smoothed her hair. _

            "Shhhhhhhh, don't worry, we're here." She said in a rush as she motioned with her head at Kazuo that they needed to get out of the house. Following her lead, Kazuo quickly instructed Akina to come with them and dragged her out of the house and through the backyard. Akina sobbed hysterically as the twins ran with everything they had, turning out of the woods and into the quiet road that the Kusanagi family lived on. Suddenly, the ground began to quake underneath the escaping trio, and they stopped and turned around to see where their foe was. 

            "Where…?" Midori started as she looked down at the empty street, her statement being cut off when a forceful crash smashed into the area behind her. Screaming, the trio were knocked off their feet, Akina hitting her head on the pavement hard and knocking her out. Kazuo and Midori turned around in horror to see a giant Aragami.

            "What _is it?" Midori asked in horror as she looked at it with wide eyes. Kazuo, who all the while had been trying to revive Akina (with no success) looked up and gaped in terror. _

            "Aw crap! I have no idea!" He said as he picked Akina up in his arms and backed up until he was next to his sister. The monster stood twenty feet high, with twelve legs that reminded Kazuo of a scorpion. Its midsection looked like it was made of steel, its redness giving off an eerie glow as it reflected the moonlight. At the back end he noticed an almost iridescent, silveresque fish tail The top part of the Aragami consisted of a long neck and what appeared to Kazuo to be the head of a grasshopper. All in all it appeared to the red-head as a sort of surreal cross between a spider, scorpion, crawfish, grasshopper, and guppy.

            Snorting with disgust, Midori's manner suddenly changed from horror to that of annoyance. 

            "This stupid thing is creeping me out." She said as she got down on her knees and took her backpack off of her back, opening it up on the ground and pulling out a rifle.

            The Aragami gave a tremendous roar and glared at Kazuo. Suddenly a loud rumbling noise filled the air as large stones smashed simultaneously around the trio. 

            "What? Does this thing seriously think it can trap us this way? There are gaping holes everywhere where we can escape!" Midori screamed through the settling dust at her brother, making note of all possible exits, an action repeatedly stressed to both her and her brother since they were very little by their mother. Taking aim, Midori fired five rounds at the monster, every bullet hitting a supposed vital area of the monster. Grunting in frustration when all of the bullets bounced off, the brunette began racking her memory for how her mother and father were able to kill the Aragami. Looking the monster over, she saw a strange shaped bead over by its tail. "_That's it!" She thought to herself as she remembered the many stories of Aragami bashing that her mom used to tell her growing up, and how every time there was always the mention of a blue bead called a mitama._

            "Man, mom really taught you how to shoot well." Kazuo said as he gave his twin sister a appreciative nod. Smiling triumphantly, Midori began to take aim at the mitama when she suddenly heard a stifled shout close by. Turning to see who it was, the Aragami whipped out its tongue and knocked her off her feet. 

            "MIDORI!!!" Makoto shouted as he dropped his bicicle and raced over to the girl's side.

            "_Makoto?! What the HELL are __you doing here?" Kazuo asked as got to his knees, and balancing the still-uncontious Akina against his body, began unzipping his backpack. Not bothering to answer his question, Makoto raced as fast as he could towards the dazed girl that he loved so much._

            "Makoto, watch out!" Kazuo screamed as he watched the Aragami rear its front legs up and slam them down next to the blue-haired boy, knocking him to the ground. Struggling to get up, Makoto lifted his head to see the left front leg of the Aragami come flying at his midsection, kicking him into a nearby rock and knocking him out instantly.

            "MAKOTO!!!" Midori yelled as she staggered to her feet and looked sadly at the crumpled body of the boy at the bottom of the rock. Suddenly six loud bangs pierced the air as Kazuo fired his mother's automatic weapon at the Aragami. The bullets bounced off the tough outer shell of the partial coruscation without leaving a dent.

            "_Shit." Kazuo muttered, his breathing quickening in panic as the Aragami reared up to attack him. _

            "_Kushinada…ceramic field…Kushinada…no more..." The Aragami hissed, the sound of its voice sending chills down the twins' spines. _

            "Ceramic field?" Kazuo questioned out loud as she tried stand and lift Akina up at the same time.

            "KAZUO WATCH IT!!!" Midori shouted as the Aragami's legs started to come down towards the boy. Midori ran in front of her brother and her friend, attempting to take the hit for the two when a sudden loud explosion filled the air.

            "GOT IT!!!" A familiar female voice called out. The Aragami's high-pitched screams filled the air as it reared its head towards the crescent moon. Gaping in wonderment, the twins watched as its body suddenly sprout strange wart-type growths and then eject its crimson mitama, its body disappearing into five small objects that fell from where the main Aragami used to be. 

            "I wonder what it was trying to trap." The voice of Matsudaira asked as the twins heard the sound of many footsteps headed towards their direction.

            "Almost looks like those old ceramic fields that they used to always throw around Momiji." Koume said quietly,

            "This doesn't settle well when you put it like that." The voice of Yoshiki Yaegashi said, steadily becoming louder at he approached. Suddenly Matsudaira appeared at the large openings between the rocks. 

            "_Midori?__ Kazuo?" The elder yelled in shock, "What on Earth are you…is that AKINA?!" Shee suddenly exclaimed as his vision focused on the unconscious girl in Kazuo's bloody arms. _

            "_MIDORI AND KAZUO?!? Koume and Yoshiki screamed as their footsteps, and that of many others, suddenly were heard approaching the area. The twins both put down their guns, but stayed on their knees. Their parents burst through an opening in one of the rocks and let out loud gasps. _

            "_OH MY GOD!!!" Koume screamed in a panicked rush as she ran over to the two. Midori, knowing that she was safe and that her mother was there, broke down into terrified sobs, her body shaking from the after-effects of realizing that she nearly died. Koume got down on her knees and hugged her daughter tightly, smoothing her hair and telling her that everything was going to be alright. Yaegashi meanwhile made his way to their son, kneeling down to see the boy's shaken and bloody form and to comfort him._

            "A-A-Akina…" Kazuo said, his voice quivering as he was on the verge of tears. 

            "Shhhhhhhh, there's an ambulance on the way." Yaegashi said as he copied his wife by embracing his son and letting him cry into his chest. 

            "Makoto…" Midori sobbed, causing Koume to become confused.

            "What about Makoto?" She asked,

            "That rock…" Midori chocked out through her sobs as she pointed a shaky finger at his crumpled figure. 

            "Oh my God! MATSUDAIRA!!!" Koume cried, getting the professor's attention. Pointing at the fallen form of Makoto, Matsudaira turned white as a sheet and ran over to the boy. She then screamed for some of the members of the defense force to get an emergency helicopter over to where they were.

            "He doesn't have much time!" She called as she laid him down and with the help of a few other aides nearby, began to check his vital signs and lay his body flat, propping his head on her lap and covering him up with her coat.

            "He's in shock." She said to a nearby soldier, who simply nodded and radioed in to his superior. Within a few minutes a helicopter landed nearby and, loading him onto a stretcher, Makoto was taken away. Seeing the helicopter off, Matsudaira trotted over to the Yaegashi family.

            "Let me see Akina." She demanded as Yaegashi let go of his son and Kazuo handed the girls still form over to her. 

            "Looks like a concussion." Matsudaira noted under her breath as she went through the same procedure as she had with Makoto, lying her flat on her back and checking her vital signs. 

            "I-I-I…" Kazuo stammered as she looked apologetically at Matsudaira and his father. Matsudaira's eyebrows raised as she looked at the boy,

            "My goodness, what happened to you? You're bleeding _everywhere." She said as she gazed at the red-head, his clothes tattered and blood coming out everywhere. Kazuo looked at his father, and saw that his work clothes had been soaked in his blood as well. Not knowing what to do or say, Kazuo burst into hysterical sobs and grabbed onto his father again. _

            A few minutes later the faint wail of ambulances sirens filled the air and Koume and Yaegashi had their children lay on the ground. After being loaded into stretchers, both children and Akina were loaded into two ambulances, and were rushed to the hospital. Koume and Yaegashi went with their children, and Matsudaira agreed to stay behind with the self defense force and observe and clean up the mess left behind. 

            "I will notify Mr. and Mrs. Kunikida about their son." She added when the parents had climbed into the ambulances with their shaken and bloodied children.

            "Where are Momiji and Kusanagi?" Koume asked suddenly. They both looked at each other a long moment and paled. 

            "Oh no…" Matsudaira said right before the ambulance doors closed.

**The End of Chapter 3**

****

Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed the third chapter! Sorry again for the delay. Please review, or you can e-mail me or Schally, both of our e-mails are on our profiles (Schally's author name is just Schally). Until next time!


	4. Pearl

Author's notes – Hey everyone! It's after break, and school is back in full swing. The up-side? No finals and no final projects. While Schally and I are both drowning in schoolwork, among other things, we were able to get the next chapter ready. All credit for this chapter goes to Schally, of course, because she wrote it. And if you haven't already visited her site at http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/7934/bseed.htm, go visit now!

Rated – PG-13 for swearing and violence

By – Merc and Schally

Chapter 4 by - Schally

****

**Chartreuse Seed**

            The Yuzo Technology Institute, though only moderately guarded, housed some of the most sophisticated research equipment in the world.  It was here that the TAC had taken temporary residence.  Though the YTI lacked certain homey touches—such as rickety ceiling fans and jammed lockers—it more than made up for the deficiency by lodging the largest biotechnology facility in Japan.  Since the Institute had only moderate security Akina was not being held there but rather in an undisclosed hospital under the watchful eye of Koume.

            The woman walking through the glass entrance doors was unaware of these details.  All she knew was that there was _something_ being housed in the Institute—something familiar.  Instinctively, she knew a mitama, or something like it, was here.  Logically, she knew the TAC would be here as well.

            The woman breezed through the security-checkpoint without hesitation, her heels clicking rhythmically against the tiled hallway.  She tucked a stray lock of scarlet hair behind one ear as she checked her watch.  4:15 p.m.  The flight had taken longer than anticipated.

            "Hey, wait—that's authorized personnel only!" one of the guards barked, jogging after her.

            "Authorized for TAC only?"

            "Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to—"

            The woman briskly opened the door, stopping with a click just inside the doorway.  Sugishita looked up from his laptop mid-keystroke.  He didn't recognize her at first.  Perhaps it was the outfit.  She was now wearing a black dress jacket and skirt, a white blouse, and conservative heels—a far cry from the racier leather outfit of her younger years.  Or perhaps it was the passage of time and her transformation from a teenager to a woman.  But when he took in the bright crimson hair, the slightly pointed ears, and the confidence in her stance, it all came back to him.  

            "V-Valencia?" he stammered, standing so suddenly he knocked his chair over.  He blinked at her for a moment, then motioned for the guard to leave.  "It's okay, Valencia is authorized," Sugishita murmured, shutting the laptop.  

            "That's Ms. Tachibana to you, Director," the woman said, giving him a small smile.  "I've come to see the mitama."

*          *          *

            "You've really grown up," Sugishita commented as he and Valencia ascended the stairs to the bio-laboratory that Matsudaria and Yaegashi were using for their research.

            "And you've really grown old," Valencia replied, her Japanese carrying only the faintest trace of an American accent.  

            "Aha," Sugishita said, rubbing the back of his head.  "You're a tough lady."

            "You had any doubt?"  Sugishita coughed into his closed fist and Valencia smiled at him again.  "Ah, I see.  Perhaps wisdom does not become age."

            "Ms. Tachibana!  How could you be so cruel to me when I've missed you all these years?"

            "I've missed you too.  And I regret the circumstances for our reunion.  How is the Kushinada?"

            "Fine.  Resting."  Sugishita opened the door to the lab for her.  "Her parents are the ones we're worried about."  He shut the door behind them and motioned for Valencia to follow him up the broad metal flight of stairs.  At the top deck both Matsudaria and Yaegashi were hunched over a computer monitor engaged in hushed conversation.  Around them, the large circular desk and the surrounding tables were covered in papers and electronic equipment.  A lone empty coffee pot sat in the far left, and next to it, several wadded-up urine sample cups.

            Sugishita tsked loudly, causing both to look up.  "You mean to tell me that the government was able to give you use of this research station and all this equipment but they couldn't even buy you proper drinking cups?" 

            "Ms. Tachibana!" Yaegashi said, surprised.  He bowed quickly, and when Valencia extended her hand to shake, he hastily removed the latex glove on his right hand to accept.

            "It's good to see you," Matsu said, following suit and shaking next.

            "I wish the business were entirely pleasure," Valencia said, giving both a small bow.  "May I see it?"

            "Certainly."  Matsu took a step back from the monitor, revealing a digitally-enhanced image of a crimson mitama.  "How are you feeling?"

            Valencia leaned over, staring at the bright screen.  "Uneasy.  You were right, doctor."  After the destruction of Valencia's artificial mitama Valencia had maintained contact with Matsudaria for research purposes.  Valencia's body had reacted violently to the loss of her mitama, and Matsudaria warned her that though the seed itself was gone it's hold on her might linger for years to come.  "I can feel the pull of the mitama.  It's not as strong as it was before, but my seed-sense is still there."

            Matsudaria smiled at her use of the TAC's inside-term for the heightened perceptions caused by the implantation of a mitama, but as her gaze flickered back to the monitor, her expression became more somber.  The fact that Valencia had sensed the presence of this mitama overseas in the U.S. made her anxious.  Had the original blue seeds been as powerful?  It was impossible to say, and yet here was Valencia.  If the crimson seed had such a strong pull on a woman who was no longer implanted with an _artificial_ mitama, what sort of effects would it have on Momiji, who had been previously implanted with a real blue seed?  Or Kusanagi, who still possessed eight?

Matsudaria rubbed her forehead and sat down in the nearest chair.  "At first we suspected that this mitama might be genetically manufactured, but now I'm not so sure."

            "This mitama is more difficult to analyze," Yaegashi added, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.  "There seems to be some sort of interference with our equipment.  An aura of some type or some kind of wave frequency.  The blue mitama were parasitic—they required a host organism in order to function.  But this mitama seems to emanate its own energy."

            Valencia's hand strayed absently to her chest, her index and third finger hesitating over the spot where the artificial mitama had once been implanted.  She glanced over at the glass case at the other end of the circular table.  "Is that it?" she asked, and Yaegashi nodded.  Valencia studied the case for a moment and approached it, her hand still poised over her chest.  "It feels strange…"  Valencia hesitated, then winced, her fingers digging into her chest through her blouse.

            "Ms. Tachibana?" Matsudaria asked.

            Valencia fell to the ground on her knees with a loud thud, still clutching her chest, and a heel broke off of one of her shoes.  

            "Ms. Tachibana!" Sugishita rushed towards her from where he had been sitting near the door.  Valencia's body convulsed and the three TAC members all reflexively shielded themselves as a force wave crested across the room, shattering the glass case and scattering the shards across the room.

            "Ms. Tachibana!" Sugishita yelled again, and the lights went out.

*          *          *

            "And Makoto?" Kunikida asked.

            "He's fine.  He woke up earlier for a few minutes before going back to sleep.  I tell ya, the kid's a bag of springs.  He'll be spooning down Jell-O before you know it."  Koume cracked her gum noisily as she held the cell phone between her shoulder and cheek.  "The twins are with him now."

            "Are they--?"

            "Fine.  Just some bumps.  Cuts, scrapes… Hell, they're _my_ kids.  They can take a beating."

            There was a sigh over the phone—no doubt of relief—followed by the clearing of a throat.  Kunikida knew Koume well enough to know that her nonchalance was simply her own way of dealing with the stress of the previous day and he took a degree of comfort from it.  "And Momiji and Kusanagi?"

            "No clue, boss."  Koume leaned over in her chair to peer into Akina's room through the open door.  The girl was sleeping, one leg sprawled off the edge of the bed while her arm was dangling to the side, Momiji-style.

            There was a brief moment of silence and Koume could hear the sounds of late afternoon traffic through the receiver.  "We'll join you shortly.  But first—"

            "Hey, don't worry.  Stop and see Makoto," Koume interrupted.  "I've got everything under control."

            "Ah, yes, well, I've got no doubt," Kunikida said, clearing his throat again.  "But I've arranged for you to have some company."

            Koume popped her gum.  "Yeah?"

            "It was sheer luck that Sakura happened to be in the country on business—"

            "Luck?  Sakura?  You gotta be kidding me!"

            "Koume, now isn't the time to be choosy."

            "Look.  You want Sakura here, fine.  But I take no responsibility for what happens to her if she gets on my damn nerves."

            "…Fair enough."

            "Did I hear my name?" a voice cooed from down the hall in badly-accented Japanese.  Koume glanced up to see Sakura Yamazaki walking towards her, as flamboyant as ever in a tight yellow sundress with matching pumps and enormous hoop earrings.

            "It's her.  Get here soon," Koume muttered, hanging up.

            "It's rude to gossip, you know.  Not that I blame you."  The Shinto priestess waggled her finger mere inches from Koume's nose.  "My, my.  That old thing?"  She gave Koume's pink jumpsuit a look over.  "Some things never change."

            "Tell me about it," Koume said, standing up so quickly that Sakura had to double-step backwards to keep from bumping heads with her.  "First you were dressing too old for your age.  Now you're dressing too young."

            Sakura gave a loud laugh.  "Don't be silly.  Now, where's the darling little sacrifice?"  She reached out for the doorknob and Koume pushed her own hand forward, slamming the door shut.  

            "Don't you ever call her that," Koume said.

            Sakura pulled her hand away.  "As long as the possibility is there we can't ignore it.  I don't like the idea any more than you do.  But it's not about that."  Sakura blinked twice.  "Dislike me all you want, Sawaguchi.  Hate me, even.  Just don't let it interfere with the well-being of that kid in there."  The seriousness of her tone faded as she added, "I was runner up for godmother, you know."

            Koume studied her for a moment.  For all of her arrogance and lurid nature, the priestess really did care.  She just had a funny way of showing it.  "I bet," Koume said dryly, opening the door.  

            "It's true."  Sakura breezed into the room and let out a delighted "oooh!" when she spied Akina's sleeping form.  "Oh, she's even more adorable than the pictures.  A couple of unusual contributions from mister mitama, but you know what they say about ducklings and swans."

            "Not really."

            "What would you know?"  Sakura stooped to tuck the blanket up around Akina's shoulders and froze, the muscles of her arms tensing as her hands hovered inches from the blanket.

            "What?" Koume asked.

            "Shhh," the priestess hissed, looking at the window out of the corner of her eye.  

            Koume's hand instinctively grasped the handle of her gun.  Sakura was motionless except for the subtle flick of her thumb towards the window, followed by the extension of one finger.  Koume gave a barely perceivable nod and walked along the side of the room opposite Sakura and Akina, staying close to the wall and stepping carefully over a  trashcan.  She dashed in front of the window, gun raised, and trained on the first thing she saw—a figure in the trees.

            "Shit--!" Koume said, and Sakura was already turning, seemingly producing a talisman from nowhere.  The priestess threw the talisman onto the window and mumbled something under her breath.  As the talisman began to glow, signifying that the window was protected, she peered out at the tree for a better look.

            Kusanagi stared back at them, his face blank, his cat-eyes dilated to near nothingness.  He made no facial expression but his exposed mitamas glowed with a strange greenish yellow light.

            Koume kept her gun trained on him, waiting for him to make the first aggressive move, but he merely stared at them before disappearing back into the trees.

            Koume lowered her gun and glanced over at Sakura.

            "I don't suppose you could explain that to me."

            Sakura was already putting on her glasses.  "Call Kunakida.  We need to find another place."

**The End of Chapter 4**

****

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed the next installment! If you're wondering why this fic is called Chartreuse Seed when the mitamas are red, you'll find out soon enough. Please review, it's Schally and my's incentive to keep writing. Again, PLEASE REVIEW!!! I'll give you a cookie if you do. ^_^;


	5. Red

Author's Notes – Ok, this seriously took a long time to write. Schally and I both wanted this story to seem somewhat like an additional season to Blue Seed, which means going all out on the information. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you a fanfic with an hour's worth of chemical research! LOL, everything that Matsudaira says in this fic about the chemical reactions and tranquilizers are scientific fact, you can check it for yourself. Anywho, this is now getting kinda dark, so be forewarned. I hope you enjoy it!

Rated – PG – 13 

By – Merc and Schally

Chapter 5 by – Merc

****

**Chartreuse Seed**

****

The mid-morning sun sat in a cloudless sky, warming the air. Though the day outside was perfect, the day inside of the The Yuzo Technology Institute was a much different atmosphere. After Valencia's strange seizure the night before, the group had taken her into another room, away from the mitama that they had been studying, and placed her on a lab table. Making her as comfortable as possible, Yaegashi and Matsudaira went back to work while Sugishita stayed behind to take care of Valencia, as he had been instructed. Since then Sugishita had been watching her constantly, noting with duress that she hadn't woken up since the incident. Noting that it was time that he replaced the wet washcloth on her forehead, Sugishita got up and walked out of the room, into the biotechnology lab where Yaegashi and Matsudaira were still researching. While taking care of Valencia, Sugishita had heard the two cleaning up the lab, and every once and awhile making outside trips to replace supplies that had been destroyed. Walking up to a sink nearby where Matsudaira was sitting, Sugishita turned on the faucet and waited for the warm water to cool down. 

"How goes everything?" He asked, noting that both Matsudaira and Yaegashi both looked terrible. He figured that he probably looked just as bad, if not worse, as the lack of sleep and troubling events from the night before wore through them all.

"Well, we're definitely finding out a lot," Matsudaira said, not taking her eyes off of the microscope that she currently had sitting in front of her. 

"How's Valencia?" Yaegashi asked as he poked his head up from behind his computer. 

"She's so-so, though I'm starting to get worried because she hasn't shown any signs of improvement," Sugishita said with an exhausted sigh. Matsudaira shook her head in frustration. 

"We need to know more about what happened to her, why her mitama reacted to this one the way it did," Matsudaira said exasperatedly.

"So what have you found out so far?" Sugishita inquired.

"Well, from what we've discovered, it appears as though these mitamas are basically harmless until something triggers them. Yaegashi and I both can't determine the trigger, so for the time being we've called it the X-Factor. Once the mitamas are triggered, a chemical reaction occurs when a small chamber storing a hydrogen peroxide solution is broken. This then activates a chemical reaction between a solution of phenyl oxalate ester and a fluorescent dye. As a result, this causes the mitamas to go from a sort of stop-sign red to a glowing greenish color; I guess the best way to describe the color would be chartreuse. After this first chemical reaction takes place, a type of photosynthesis takes place, and at the same time, the mitama releases a chemical called Thioridazine, which is basically an advanced antipsychotic tranquilizer. This in turn puts the host into a stupor, and while the host's mind is fuzzy and sleepy, the mitama takes it over. Once the mitama has taken over the host's mind, and subsequently the host's body, it orders the Adrenal Gland in the body to release large amounts of adrenaline, making the host's body extremely alert and hypersensitive." Matsudaira explained as she looked up from her microscope. Sugishita stared at her dumbly.

"I understood all of about three words of that," he said.

"Basically, something triggers the mitamas, which causes them to glow chartreuse. Once the mitamas start glowing, then they take over the mind of whatever they're inhabiting and cause them to become really alert, strong, and fast," Yaegashi explained.

"Oh," Sugishita said, now understanding what Matsudaira had been trying to tell him. "I like it better when you explain it, Yaegashi."

"Well, you asked for an explanation!" Matsudaira said defensively.

"Sorry," Sugishita apologized,

"Oh I'm sorry too, I didn't mean to snap at you. I guess I'm a bit tired, that's all," Matsudaira said as she leaned back in her chair and glanced up at the ceiling, forcing her eyes to focus on something farther away.

"We've all had it hard these past couple of days. I propose we take a small break. I'd like to check up on my children, personally," Yaegashi suggested.

"And I can take Valencia back to my place. Maybe more distance between her and that mitama will make her feel better," Sugishita suggested, thinking it was an excellent idea. Matsudaira and Yaegashi, however, immediately thought of how poor Valencia would fare in Sugishita's house, unconscious.

"Er, how about I take her with me and you get some rest," Matsudaira countered. 

"Aw, you mean you don't trust me?" Sugishita whined, putting on a fake look of hurt on his face.

"Not a bit." Yaegashi said with a chuckle as he stood up and, after turning off his computer, walked out the door.

"Say hello to the twins for me!" Sugishita shouted after him. Yaegashi turned around and nodded before leaving the lab.

***

            Koume huffed as she removed the batteries from the kitchen smoke alarm.

            "Mom, did you burn the food again?" Midori yelled from her room. Koume gave an exasperated shout of anger as she got out her hot pads and removed a rather burnt roast beef from the oven. Following the roast beef was a giant plume of black smoke, which quickly filled the kitchen. Kazuo walked into the room and began coughing.

            "Mom!" He whined in displeasure as he fanned the front of his face with one hand and covered his nose and mouth with the other. Koume turned around and gave him what the Yaegashi family had aptly called "the seventh-ring glare", the term coming from an idea from Dante's Inferno where the seventh ring of hell wasn't eternal fire, but a frozen absolute zero.

            "ARGH!!!" She yelled in disgust as she stormed over to the kitchen window and began to open it. Kazuo walked into the living room and grabbed the family's emergency "Koume in the kitchen" fan, bringing it back into the kitchen and turning it on to air it out.

            "Why couldn't we just've ordered out?" Kazuo asked,

            "Because we have company, that's why," Koume retorted as she grabbed the telephone and ordered some takeout. Kazuo nodded and walked up the stairs, where he went into his twin sister's room.

            "Is something burning?" Akina asked as she looked up at her friend.

            "Mom tried to cook, didn't she?" Midori asked as she peered from behind her bathroom door at her brother. Kazuo nodded solemnly in response. "Why in the hell did she go and do that?" Midori asked angrily as she shut the bathroom door.

            "What do you guys normally eat for dinner? Or do you just starve?" Sakura asked as she looked up from Akina's foot. Kazuo took a good look around the room at that point, noticing how his sister was in the bathroom that they shared, no doubt changing into her jogging outfit for her late-afternoon run. Akina sat on Midori's bed, laying comfortably back into the pillows as she played with a hot pink feather boa that she had found underneath his sister's nightstand. Sakura, meanwhile, sat cross-legged on the foot of the bed, painting Akina's toenails.

            "Normally dad cooks," Kazuo answered.

            "Oh?" Sakura asked, shocked the revelation.

            "Yeah, but he's been out forever doing that research or whatever," Midori yelled from inside the bathroom.

            "Mom told us that she couldn't tell us where he was," Kazuo complained as he pulled out a chair from Midori's desk and sat down.

            "Oooooohhhhhhhh, I love top secret stuff!" Akina said excitedly as she bounced on the bed. 

            "Ack!" Sakura yelled as she tried to stop the bottle of nail polish from tipping over.

            "Sorry," Akina apologized as she settled down.

            "Aw, look, you made me ruin your toes," Sakura moaned. Suddenly, Akina's features twisted into a look of startled curiosity.

            "Akina?" Kazuo asked worriedly. Midori opened up the door to the bathroom and stepped out, whereupon she grabbed her nose.

            "Aw man, the smoke rose!" She yelled out in disgust as she closed the door to her room and opened her window.

            "So that's what that smell was," Akina said thoughtfully, her look of curiosity now gone.

            "Are you sure that's safe Midori?" Kazuo questioned, having remembered what their mother had told them earlier on the drive home about how they needed to re-locate Akina due to safety concerns.

            "Nah, don't worry. I've got this entire place covered with ofundas (A/N –ofundas are those pieces of paper that you see Sakura always throwing around) and I've blessed every corner of this house," Sakura said confidently. Midori, Kazuo, and Akina all looked at each other, then at the window. Midori immediately shut it.

            "Hey!" Sakura cried out, "I'm the best faith-healer in the world, and don't you forget it!" 

            "Whatever," Midori shrugged, "I'm going out for my afternoon jog. See you guys in a little bit." 

            "Ok, be careful," Akina said, waving her friend off. Midori smiled and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Oh the way down the stairs, she heard her mother talking, and she stopped.

            "That was Valencia's reaction?" She heard her mother ask. Midori crept down the stairs and peered over the railing to see her mother and father talking. Quickly retracing her steps back up the stairs, the twin burst back into the room which she had come from.

            "That was fast," Kazuo commented,

            "Dad's home!" Midori shouted, ignoring her brother's comment. Sakura and Akina both perked up, and everyone quickly headed down the stairs to greet the new arrival. On the way down, Sakura and Akina began to cough.

            "Aw man, that damn smoke gets thicker as we go down," Sakura complained as she put her arm around her mouth, using her sleeve as a makeshift gasmask. 

            "DAD!!!" The twins yelled as the hurried down the stairs. Yaegashi and Koume both turned their heads to see everyone running towards them.

            "Akina? Sakura?" Yaegashi asked in surprise as the twins ran up to him. "Is this why you were cooking Koume?" 

            "We needed to move Akina because Sakura and I both felt that she was in danger. She's hiding out here for the time being," Koume said with a sigh as she glared at the oncoming Sakura Yamazaki. Yaegashi blanched.

            "You'll have to tell me about this in more detail later on," He commented over his shoulder as he walked up to the twins and Akina, giving all three of them hugs.

            "Well you guys are looking much better since the last time I saw you," he said with a light chuckle.

            "Whoa dad, you look like crap," Midori said, causing everyone in the room besides Koume to facefault.

            "I said the same thing to him," Koume said as she laughed, hugging her daughter.

            "Yup, she's definitely mine!" She proclaimed as she gave Midori a noogie. Kazuo laughed as he watched the two. Akina, however, looked crestfallen. Yaegashi glanced over and saw the unhappy girl. Walking over to her, he knelt down and put his hands on her shoulders.

            "Don't worry, we'll find your parents," he said reassuringly. Akina nodded solemnly,

            "I wish I could remember more about what happened that night, but I can't. All I can remember is that I was asleep in bed when mom woke me up. After that it's a total blank," Akina said as tears formed in her eyes. Yaegashi enveloped her in a hug and tried to comfort her.

            "Shhh, it's alright, everything will be just fine. After all, I look like crap for a reason," he said with a slight smile. Akina laughed and pulled away,

            "Thanks Mr. Yaegashi," she said, feeling much better. Midori and Kazuo walked over to Akina and simultaneously gave her hugs.

            "Don't worry about a thing Akina, we're here for ya!" Midori said cheerfully.

            "Yeah, I mean, after all, the worst that could happen would be that they both died horrible, painful deaths," Sakura added for measure. The Yaegashi family glared at the faith healer while a look of utter terror crossed over Akina's face. Koume let out an angry grunt and after grabbing a nearby pot, proceeded to throw at her. Sakura let out a yelp of pain as the pot hit her square in the face.

            "OW!!!"

            "Don't listen to that stupid wench Akina," Koume said reassuringly, "I'll find your parents no matter what. And they are alive, I can sense it."

            "You can?" Akina asked, to which Koume nodded.

            "Yup, I can always sense when that plant-dad of yours is around. That guy gives off an aura of bad luck from here to Chicago."

            "Take her word for it, I've seen her do it," Yaegashi agreed.

            "Really?" Akina asked excitedly,

            "Yeah, it's totally freaky. Like when you guys come to visit, she knows it's you before you even ring the doorbell," Kazuo thirded, causing Koume to beam.

            "See? And I sense your dad right now, he's close by," Koume said as she decided to not tell the girl about the real reason why she knew her father was alive. After a few minutes Akina, Kazuo, Midori, and Sakura all headed back upstairs. 

            "I thought you said that she was in danger," Yaegashi said as he watched her go.

            "Kusanagi's alive," Koume said seriously.

            "Oh?"

            "Sakura and I both saw him outside of Akina's window at the hospital. His mitama were glowing a sort of neon-greenish color, and he had this strange look in his eyes." Koume said worriedly, "That's why we moved her, Sakura included. I can't stand that faith-healing bitch, but at the moment she's the only thing standing in the way of the enemy knowing Akina's whereabouts." Yaegashi gave his wife a hard look,

            "This may be endangering all of us Koume," he said hard.

            "You think it was easy for me to take her back here knowing that the twins would be in danger? We had no other option!" she retorted, to which Yaegashi sighed.

            "Why couldn't you get Mr. Kunikida or Ryoko to take her?"

            "Because they're at the hospital 24/7 by Makoto's bedside. In the *same* hospital as Akina. Moving her to them would've have helped her at all. Besides, how are they going to protect her while they're so busy worrying about their son?" Knowing that he lost, Yaegashi sighed again.

            "I guess we'll really have to be on our guard then," 

            "Well, like both Midori and I said, you look like crap. Why don't you go to bed for awhile, and I'll take up the watch," Koume suggested. Not one to turn down the offer, Yaegashi nodded and gave his wife a kiss.

            "Wake me if anything happens," he whispered as he embraced her.

            "Like you can do anything besides instant message the problem, you nerd?" Koume teased,

            "Shut up," Yaegashi said playfully as he gave her a small shove. 

***

            "Yes sir, I understand," Matsudaira said seriously into the telephone. Hanging up, she glanced over at Valencia's sleeping figure on the couch. The woman had made a recovery since Matsudaira had gotten her to her home, and she slept peacefully on the couch. Going over in her mind what her boss had just said, Matsudaira shut off all of the lights and closed the blinds.

            "I wonder why the distance helped so much?" the doctor thought to herself as she changed into some more comfortable clothes and went into the kitchen. Toasting a bagel, Matsudaira went to put some cream cheese on it when a soft voice spoke to her.

            "Mmmmmmm, what smells so good?"

            "Valencia!" Matsudaira shouted in surprise, "You're awake."

            "Yeah, finally," the redhead said as she looked at her watch. "I've been asleep for a full day?" 

            "Yes," Matsudaira responded,

            "Good thing my watch has a small digital calendar on it, otherwise I'd be completely disoriented," Valencia said as she got up off of the couch and approached Matsudaira.

            "Would you like one?" Matsudaira inquired as she motioned towards her bagel. Valencia nodded eagerly,

            "Thank you."

            "No problem." Matsudaira said as she opened up her refrigerator and got out another bagel to toast. Suddenly, a sharp yelp escaped from Valencia's lips and Matsudaira turned around just in time to see the young woman collapse to the ground.

            "Valencia!" She shouted as she ran over to help her up. Suddenly, Valencia stood up and looked glaringly at Matsudaira.

            "Valencia?" Matsudaira whispered in fear as she noticed something glowing from Valencia's chest. A mitama…

**The End of Chapter 5**

Ok, I hope everyone enjoyed it! Gotta love me for the cliffhanger, eh? Please review, Schally and I both thrive on them. PLEASE!!! *Gets on her knees* Pretty please? All the meanwhile, stay tuned for chapter 6 from Schally! *tags Schally*


	6. Gray

Author's notes – Hey everyone, Merc here with the latest installment of Chartreuse Seed! Since this is an even chapter, Schally got the lovely task of writing it. Oh, and she's come up with a great Chartreuse Seed drinking game: for every time a character jumps out of a window, take one drink. XD Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, because Schally worked very hard on it. ^_^;

Rated – PG-13 

By – Merc and Schally

Chapter 6 by – Schally 

****

**Chartreuse Seed – Chapter 6**

            Sakura let out a long, nasal snore and both Akina and Midori giggled.

            "Gosh, she sure is noisy," Akina mused as Sakura mumbled something incoherent and flopped over, nearly clobbering Akina with her arm.

            "Even in her sleep," Midori said, readjusting her covers so she could continue reading by the light of her flashlight.  Sakura had insisted on sleeping with the girls—in the same bed, no less—under the guise of their protection, though Midori suspected that it had more to do with Sakura's adamant refusal to sleep on the couch downstairs where the smells of dinner still lingered.  

            Akina was content to rest her head on her arms, glancing past Midori out the half-open window.  "Did you hear that?" she asked finally.

            "What?"

            "That person talking."

            Midori stopped reading for a moment and cocked her head.  "Nah.  Maybe it's the TV or something."

            "Nobody's up."

            Midori didn't answer.  Every time Akina slept over she was always paranoid that she could hear things or see things.  Midori had learned long ago not to get worked up over it.  "Just go to sleep."

            "I miss Makoto," Akina said softly.  Then, in a moment, "There it is again."

            "Try to get some sleep, will ya?  You want me to turn the light off?"

            "No."

            Midori turned her back to Akina to adjust her position a little bit.  One last page and she'd put it up for the night.  She turned the page, licking her finger, and stopped.  Almost imperceptivity the paper was beginning to glow a soft blue color.  The color increased in intensity and Midori dropped the book onto the mattress.  Then she realized the glow wasn't coming from the book.  She turned only to see that Akina's blank eyes staring at the ceiling, a soft blue glow encompassing her tiny body.

            "Akina!" Midori whispered.  Her gaze flicked to Sakura and she saw that the Shinto priestess was completely motionless, her narrowed brown eyes the only sign that she was awake.  Sakura's arm visibly tensed but she said nothing, merely shooting Midori a look she knew all too well from her mother: _don't you dare make a sound_.

            Akina suddenly flew upward, dragging the comforter with her, and Midori let out a scream in spite of Sakura's warning.  The comforter hurled itself towards the far wall as if it had been yanked away from Akina's hovering form by invisible hands.  Sakura grabbed for Akina's arm, only to be violently repelled away by a force-field bubble.  The priestess hit the ground with a bump and was promptly back on her feet.  

            "Get down!" Sakura thundered, and Midori threw herself onto the mattress as Akina flew past at a sudden, unexpected speed.  Midori could feel her hair stand on end as the powerful field moved past her and crashed through the window.  

"Shit!"  Sakura jumped onto the bed, then onto the floor and out the remains of the window, nicking herself on broken glass in the process.

"Sakura!" Midori jumped up and stared out the window as Sakura ran after Akina, who was picking up speed.

Sakura screamed something and hurled a talisman at Akina's retreating form, only to have it thrown back at her with a force strong enough to knock her back several feet.

"Get your parents!" Sakura yelled, cradling her arm from where she had rebounded off of the field before, and she was gone, following Akina into the woods surrounding the house.

*          *          *

            The first thought that came to Matsudaria's mind was: _How does __Valencia__ have a mitama?_  Then, _What__ should I do_?  There might have been a logical reason, and maybe Matsudaria could have figured it out, but Valencia was advancing towards her, the glowing seed casting a harsh light on her pale face, and Matsudaira found herself too stunned to process this seemingly impossible scenario.  A low hiss escaped Valencia's lips and Matsudaria found herself backing towards the wall.  The sense of power than emanated from the American was overwhelming and she was literally trembling.

"V-Valencia?" Matsudaria asked, knowing that she should be running.

            Valenica lunged, grabbing Matsu by the neck and smashing her back into the plaster wall.  Matsudaria grappled with the vise around her neck, gulping desperately for air as Valencia's fingers tightened around her neck.

            "Kushinada," Valencia said.  The word was slow and uncertain.  "Kushinada," she said again, and this time it sounded more confident.

            Matsudaria clutched at Valencia's hand, scanning the room frantically for something, anything.  Her eyes settled on her gun, a Smith and Wesson M36 chief special, which was sitting holstered on an end table out of reach.  She knew it was no use—her vision was already becoming spotty and she could feel the blood pumping in her head, but she struggled anyway.

            Valencia frowned, impatient, and slammed Matsu into the wall again, causing bits of plaster to chip off and fall onto the blue carpet.  "Kushinada," she demanded again.  Seeing that Matsudaria was not going to provide any answers, she turned her head slowly, surveying the room.  Her gaze rested on a framed picture of the TAC that Matsudaria had sitting on her short bookshelf.  

            Wordlessly, Valencia dropped Matsu to the ground.  As the scientist fell into a heap, gasping for air, Valencia picked up the picture.  She flexed her hand quickly, shattering the glass, and removed the photograph.  She then turned back to Matsudaira, who was still straining for breath.  "Momiji Kushinada," Valencia hissed.  She took a step forward and Matsudaria flattened against the wall, edging towards the end table.  If only she could reach her gun…  But could she risk shooting Valencia?

            The phone rang and Matsudaria screamed, startled.  Valencia hesitated, only her eyes moving towards the sound of the disturbance.  After three short rings the answering machine picked up.

            "Mrs. Matsudaria, it's Momiji, please pick up," a frightened voice begged.  Matsudaria gasped.  "Mrs. Matsudaria, please, I need you help.  I can feel my daughter headed this way.  I'm at the Memorial…"

            Matsudaria lunged for the phone, desperately grabbing for the cord plugged into the wall.  If only she could unplug it before Momiji finished…

            "The Susano-oh Memorial.  Come as soon as you ca—"

            Matsudaria yanked the cord out and the line went dead.  She turned just in time to see Valencia's bare foot swing in front the side, catching her in the stomach and knocking the wind out of her.  Matsudaria hit the wall, crumpling this time.  Valencia watched the scientist for a moment and, satisfied by her immobility, took a running charge at the picture window at the far side of the house, launching herself outside in a spray of glass and pane splinters.

*          *          *

            Sugishita lowered his seat back two notches, yawning.  Shacking up in his '91 Suzuki Escudo probably hadn't been the best idea in the world, but asking Koume to stay at her house would have resulted in disaster.  Sakura was there, he knew, and… well…  It wasn't all his fault.  They had both made mistakes.

            Nevertheless, he contented himself that by staking out the Yaegashi residence from the other side of the wood he was doing his part to protect the Kushinada.  Let it never be said that Shun'ichi Sugishita didn't have a sense of duty.  Sleepily, he took another bite of his sandwich, a pre-packaged hamburger he had picked up from a vending machine at the office.  He had to keep his strength up, he reasoned.  To protect the ladies and all of that.  Nevertheless, even a warrior needed his sleep, and it wasn't long before he began to tire, the head-rest upholstery beckoning him to deep, blissful sleep (and, hopefully, dreams of nubile young women).

            He was about to nod off when a loud rumbling jarred him awake.  

            "What the hell?"

            He craned his neck to see a blue energy ball rumble past him, violently shaking the car and scratching a perfect line of white paint off of the front hood.

            Sugishita blinked twice.  Was that _Akina_?  He glanced back to the gaping path in the wooded area from where the energy ball had come only to see a blonde woman sprint past the car, her sheer nightgown flowing behind her in shreds.

            "Sakura!" he bellowed, fumbling to open the door and banging his knee in the process.  He managed to fling the door open and he yelled again, "Sakura!"

            Sakura hesitated and looked back, coming to a slow halt as recognition set in.  Shock was the word.  And she was _not_ happy to see him.

            "Get in!" he yelled, and slammed the door shut.  She ran around the front of the car and slid into the passenger seat as the engine of the Escudo roared to life.  Her long blonde hair, which she had braided for the night, had come undone in several long sections that fell around her face.  In addition to the mangled remains of her nightgown, which was saved only by her largely intact lingerie, she was sporting a series of scratches and welts on her arms and legs.  A dark bruise was developing on her right hand from the palm up past the wrist to the middle of her forearm.  

He wanted, very desperately, to make a comment about "kissing it to make it better" and pull it off with charm and grace, but he knew that would never happen so he asked, "Where's she going?" instead.

            "Northeast.  Step on it."

            Sugishita obliged and the car pulled out into the road with a screech of tires.  "If she goes back into the forest we're screwed," he told her.

            "Doesn't matter.  I can sense the energy.  Hang a right."

            They drove along the deserted roads, both silent save the occasional direction from Sakura.  Finally, he worked up the nerve and said, "I like your nightgown."

            "You're such a pig."

            "Excuse me?"

            "You've got some mustard or something on your face."

            He tried to wipe it off, but failed miserably.  Somehow, the condiment kept evading him.

            "Oh, for God's sake.  Here."  Sakura reached over and ran her thumb along the side of his face.  "There.  Left here."

            Normally he would have had a one-liner prepared, something coy, perhaps, but his mind was drawing a blank.  He'd always found it hard to think when it came to Sakura.

            "Nice to see you too," he said eventually, and when she didn't answer he sighed.  "When you went out for groceries I didn't expect that it'd take you a decade.  I hope you didn't forget the curry."

            "This isn't the time," she said.

            "Will it ever be the time?" he asked bitterly.  He'd avoided eye contact for the duration of their drive and he was glad now that he had an excuse for it.

            "There, up ahead," Sakura said, her voice the softest it had been, and Sugishita drove carefully through the mangled main gate to the Susano-oh Memorial Park—clearly, the energy ball had been here, and with no regard for public monuments.  _Why here?  What did it mean?_ Sugishita turned off the car and they sat there for a moment surveying the scene before them.  Akina was nowhere in sight and the park seemed deserted.

            "This is it?" Sugishita asked, and the Shinto priestess nodded.  He touched the holster under his jacket, as he often did, his fingers brushing rubber grip of his gun.  "Let's go, then."

            The two stepped out of the car, the simultaneous slamming of their doors sounding thunderous in the calm of the park.

**The End of Chapter 6**

****

Whoa, the suspense! What's going on with Akina? Why does Valencia have a mitama again? And what's all this about decade-old curry? Plot twists, drama, action, and of course the occasional romance, next time on Chartreuse Seed. Be sure to review also!


	7. Crimson

Author's notes – Ok, first of all I take full responsibility for being totally late on this chapter. Excessively late. To all of the readers, I am so sorry. To Schally, my co-author, I'm even more sorry. Anyways, without further ado, I give you the next chapter. Be forewarned, it's dark. I mean super dark. I mean super-duper-impossibly-black dark. Enjoy!

****

Rated – R for lots of swearing and tons of violence

By – Merc and Schally

Chapter 7 By - Merc

****

**Chartreuse Seed**

Koume tore up the stairs and down the hall to the room where Akina, Sakura, Midori, and Kazuo had been. She had been downstairs arming a few handguns for her husband and herself, along with her trusty bazooka, when she heard multiple screams and several loud bangs. Upon reaching the room, Koume tried to turn the knob, only to find it to be locked. 

            "Midori! Kazuo! OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT THIS INSTANT!!!" Koume demanded, banging on the door. When nobody answered, she backed up and kicked the midsection of the door as hard as she could, breaking it down. Raising the gun she had brought with her, she began searching the room frantically. The area itself was a total disaster, with sure signs of a massive struggle. Spots of blood stained the walls, and several large holes and a gigantic straight-lined burnt mark complimented both the walls and the floor. The contents of the room lay strewn about, with furniture destroyed or overturned and random items splayed in every direction. Koume searched the room frantically for her children, peering through the closets, windows, and holes in which they could have been. When she didn't find them, she began screaming.

            "KAZUO!!! MIDORI!!!" Koume listened for a response. The sound of a single pair of footsteps running down the hall breached the ensuing silence. Appearing at the door was her husband, freshly showered but obviously having hastily dressed.

            "I heard screaming! Is everything alri- _what happened?!" Yaegashi cried as she stepped into the room, all color draining from his face. _

            "Everyone's gone," Koume said as calmly as she could, though panic was evident in her features. 

            "How could…where…our children…oh God…" Yaegashi said in broken sentences as his mind struggled to comprehend the sight before him. Koume simply stared at him. He had been right, bringing Akina to their household had been extremely dangerous, to all of them. Now Midori and Kazuo were missing. And there was blood on the walls… In an extremely rare moment of uncharacteristic confusion, Koume began to hyperventilate. 

            "It's all my fault…shit…those fucking Aragami hurt my kids…oh fuck, oh fuck, oh _fuck_..."  Koume rambled as she felt herself become lightheaded. Yaegashi quickly made his way over to his wife and sat her down on the floor, cradling her.

            "Shhhhhh, take it easy," Yaegashi said reassuringly. Koume sat in his embrace on the verge of completely breaking down when suddenly an idea popped into her head. Right before she had heard the screams start, one of the instruments that her husband had thrown on the table before washing up began to spike and beep rapidly. Confused, she had checked it and found it to be a complex-looking instrument for measuring energy. 

            "Yoshiki, you have somethin' that measures electric-pulse energy right?" Koume asked, straightening her frame as she spoke.

            "Yes," Yaegashi answered, confused as to the sudden mood swing.

            "Get it, that energy-thingy might tell us where Midori and Kazuo are," Koume said hurriedly as she pulled herself from his embrace and stood up. Confused, Yaegashi followed her down the stairs where he pulled out his energy-reader from a pile of instruments he had cast aside earlier. 

            "Take this too," Koume said, throwing him a gun. 

            "How is this going to help us?" Yaegashi asked as he dropped the energy meter on the counter in order to catch the gun Koume had tossed him. 

            "I'll tell ya in the damn car," Koume said as she ran out the door. 

*          *          *

            Sakura's eyes flicked around the area as she took in her surroundings. All of the surrounding streetlights had been blown out, leaving the area shrouded in complete darkness. Not that she needed light in order to do what she needed to. Standing rigidly still, Sakura clasped her two hands together and began to slowly chant, putting herself into a slight state of increased awareness. To the uninformed bystander she would seem to be in a sort of deep transitional meditation. However, Sakura was focusing her concentration on her senses, heightening them in order to find Akina's aura, and therefore her whereabouts. She had just about achieved her heightened state of spirituality when a sudden crash broke her from her thoughts.

            "Ow! Damnit!" Sugishtia swore as he picked himself up after having tripped over a trashcan. Although the absence of streetlights in the immediate area had made it harder to see, the distant intrusion of light from the large city of Tokyo caused enough of a glimmer so that he could make out the outlines of various objects and landscapes, including that of Sakura. He had tried to make his way over to her when he had tripped over the hidden obstacle. 

            "_Damnit__ Sugishita!" Sakura screamed, infuriated, "And you wonder why I left you? Ugh, you are __impossible!" _

            "Seesh, sorry," Sugishita mumbled as he bent over to pick up the fallen garbage receptacle. Sakura grunted and went back to concentrating. After a few minutes, Sakura was finally able to tap into her spiritual sensitivity, and began to feel around for Akina's aura. To her surprise, the aura she found was neither level nor above her, but rather came from below. Sakura opened her eyes. 

            "Shit," Sakura whispered as she comprehended the location in which Akina's aura presented itself.

            "What?" Sugishita asked, feeling it was safe to approach to her.

            "Akina's here," Sakura said quietly.

            "Didn't we already establish that?" Sugishita asked, trying to come up with something witty to lighten the moment. Sakura smacked him on the arm.

            "I don't mean _here_ here, I mean down below here," Sakura said as she pointed at the ground. Sugishita gave her a confused look. 

            "Sugi-chan, stay with me on this, ok?" Sakura said short-temperedly, Sugishita merely nodded in reply. "Where are we at?" 

            "The Suzano-oh Memorial," Sugishita answered,

            "Right, and what's right below the memorial?" 

            "Uh…"

            "What stands in place where Suzano-oh was when we fought him?"

            "A cherry tree?"

            "And what's right below the cherry tree?"

            "Roots?" Sakura blanched at the answer.

            "_Besides _roots?"

            "Uh…dirt?" 

            "And…?"

            "Dog crap?" 

            "You are such a pig,"

            "What? It is a park after all!" Sugishita retorted,

            "And you people call me stupid," Sakura huffed. "Suzano-oh is currently sleeping underneath that cherry tree!" 

            "Oh," Sugishita said, not really understanding what Sakura was saying. Suddenly, it hit him, "_Oooooohhhhhhhhh__…" Sugishita said, his face paling._

            "Akina's down there with Suzano-oh and Kaede?" Sugishita questioned,

            "He finally gets it," Sakura said, her eyebrow twitching.

            "Oh crap…" Sugishita let his sentence trail off. Suddenly, a pair of footsteps pounding loudly on the pavement put both people on high alert. Sugishita pulled out his gun and aimed at what he thought was the source of the footsteps, stepping protectively in front of Sakura.

            "WHO'S THERE?!" Sugishita bellowed in his most authoritative and dangerous voice. The petite figure of a woman appeared from behind the memorial.

            "Don't shoot, it's me," the voice said softly as the owner walked forward, her hands raised. Sakura's eyebrows shot up and her eyes widened considerably.

            "_Momiji?!_" Sakura asked, shocked. The woman let out a whimper of reply, followed by the sounds of quiet sobbing. Sugishita dropped his gun and both he and Sakura bolted over to the disconsolate young woman.

            "I just saw my daughter..." Momiji said between sniffles, "what's happening?" 

            "We don't know," Sugishita said, crestfallen. Momiji looked fightful, her nightgown torn to many a degree. Burn marks, cuts, bruises, and many other injuries marred her usually-perfect body. Blood spotted the clothes that had managed to stay on her body, and a cold sweat clung to her every limb. Her hair was a tangled mass, Sugishita compared it moreso to a bird's nest. Between the two women, Sugishita thought they looked as though they had both been to hell and back. 

            "I can sense her aura, down below," Sakura said slowly and deliberately. A look of understanding swept over Momiji's features and she collapsed onto the pavement, sobbing.

            "She's with Suzano-oh and Kaede, isn't she?" Momiji said through sobs as Sakura consoled her.

            "We'll get her back. I swear on my mother's grave," Sakura said seriously. It was the most serious Sugishita had ever seen the two girls. Any more seriousness for the night and he figured he might develop a peptic ulcer. He figured it was time for a little of ol' Sugishita's finely-timed humor.

            "Hey, at least she's twenty feet under instead of six, eh?" This caused Momiji to cry harder and Sakura to give him a glare that could freeze over the fires of hell. 

            "I didn't forget the curry when I went the store ten years ago Sugi, I forgot _you_," Sakura said, rage evident in her voice. Before she could say anything more hurtful, a pair of headlights illuminated the trio and a car came roaring up. Stopping directly in front of them, Matsudaira climbed out, extreme worry etched on her face. 

            "Momiji-chan!" She cried as she lunged foreward and embraced her. Sakura stood up and walked over next to Sugishita.

 "Are you alright?" Matsudaira asked hurriedly, to which Momiji simply nodded in response. 

"We need to go, _now," Matsudaira stressed as she pulled Momiji to her feet and tried to drag her to the car. _

"But my daughter's down there!" Momiji protested loudly, "I need to help her!" 

"You're in great danger here," Matsudaira responded as she pulled against the protesting Momiji. She glanced over at Sakura and Sugishita for help. Sakura, who was quite clearly confused, walked over the struggling pair.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked,

            "Momiji's being hunted," Matsudaira answered,

            "By whom?" Sugishita injected,

            "Valencia and…" Matsudaira let her sentence trail off. Momiji stopped struggling against the scientist and looked at her in confusion, asking,

            "And who?" 

            "And…"

            "And?" Sakura, Sugishita, and Momiji all asked at the same time.

            "Kusanagi," Matsudaira finished softly. Momiji's face paled in horror. Her own _husband_ was out to get her? Unable to take any more shock for the night, Momiji fainted.

*          *          *

            Koume drove rapidly down the freeway as her husband directed her, basing the directions on the energy-reader. 

            "So you think wherever Akina is, Kazuo and Midori will be there as well?" Yaegahi asked as he kept his energy-reader aimed at what appeared to be an energy spike over towards the Suzano-oh Memorial Park a few miles up ahead.

            "Yeah," Koume answered, "I'm gonna kill those Aragami assholes, every last one of 'em."

            "I'm getting some strong readings over at the Suzano-oh Memorial Park," Yaegashi said, brushing off the last comment.

            "Of _course," Koume said sarcastically, "can't those fuckin' monsters find some other place to meet. I mean _damn_…" _

            Koume continued to ramble on angrily, swearing enough to make a sailor blush, as they made their way over the park. About a few blocks away from their destination, Koume began to feel a chill crawl up her spine.

            "Somethin' ain't right," Koume said severely. As if on cue, Valencia came streaking around the corner. 

            "What the-" Yaegashi began when Valencia tore down the street and proceeded to jump onto the roof of the car. The shock of the girl crashing down from above caused Koume to lose control of the car. Koume swore loudly as she struggled to pull the car out of the slide it was in, narrowly missing a street pole and several lamp posts. With another leap, Valencia jumped forcefully onto the hood, then onto the ground, where she continued to run. Meanwhile, the power of the girl's impact on the hood caused the car flip over, and slide into the side of a building, where it came to a crashing halt. 

*          *          *

            Matsudaira, with the help of Sugishita, lifted the uncontious Momiji into the car and, after securing the other two additional riders, tore off down the street. As she drove down the street, she reached into her purse and pulled out a small item tied in a cloth bag and tossed it back to Sakura. 

            "What's this for?" Sakura asked as she turned the small object over in her hand.

            "Smelling salts," Matsudaira answered, looking in the rearview mirror to see Sakura's reaction. With a nod of compliance Sakura held the small bag underneath Momiji nose, and within a few seconds, Momiji came to with a loud sputter and gag. 

            "Where am I?" Momiji asked frantically,

            "You're in my car Momiji, we're taking you to a safer location," Matsudaira answered without taking her eyes off the road. After a few moments, Momiji had recollected everything that had happened before she passed out, and began demanding to go back to help her daughter.

            "You will do more harm to Akina if you go back than if you come with me," Matsudaira responded harshly. Momiji clamped up and with a surrendering sigh began to look out the window. As they rounded the corner, something caught her eye. 

            "Ms. Matsudaira, look!" Momiji exclaimed as she pointed to a red, overturned car a little ways up ahead. Matsudaira contemplated on letting it be before Sugishita shouted,

            "Hey, that looks like Yaegashi's car!" At that revalation, Matsudaira, who had passed the damaged vehicle, slammed on the breaks, throwing everyone foreward. Shifting into reverse, she backed the car up the empty street to the overturned car and realized with horror that it indeed was the Yaegashi family's car. 

            "Shit," Sakura said as she unbuckled her seatbelt and jumped out with Sugishita. The pair ran over to the car while Matsudaira pulled the car onto the sidewalk and parked. Sakura and Sugishita were already attempting to pry open the doors to get the trapped occupants out. 

            Both Momiji and Matsudaira ran up and began to help the duo figure out how to get Koume and Yaegashi out. Matsudaira could hear a combination of pleading, swearing, and crying coming from inside the vehicle, the majority of it coming from what sounded like a male voice. Sugishita turned around to look for something to help them when his eyes came to rest upon an uprooted signpost. Grabbing it, he ran back over to the distressed vehicle where he promptly jammed the flattened end into the stuck but nevertheless slightly-ajar passenger-side door and proceeded to try to pry it open. Asking for help, Sakura, Momiji, and Matsudaira all pushed their full weight against the makeshift crowbar, and managed to jar the door open. 

            Yaegashi came crawling out, blood splattered all over his clothes and face. His glasses were shattered, hanging limply off of one of his ears. His right arm was clearly broken, as well as a few ribs from what Matsudaira could determine. Most likely from the force of the seatbelt keeping him in. A nasty gash sported across his forehead, oozing fresh blood. Yaegashi looked extremely disoriented and in a lot of pain. 

            "What _happened?" Sugishita asked as Sakura and Matsudaira reached inside to help Koume out. _

            "V-V-Valencia…" Yaegashi said, his voice quivering violently as he began to spit out blood. His eyes gazed from one person to the next, resting on Momiji.

            "W-what are you doing here Momiji?" He asked. Momiji gave him a blank look. "You're in d-danger here," he added before ripping his gaze over to the passenger side of the car where Sakura and Matsudaira had managed to pull his wife out. Koume looked in worse shape than her significant other. Although conscious, nearly her entire body was beginning to show signs of massive bruising and internal bleeding. Her nose was bleeding, as well as her mouth, and it was quite obvious that she sported the same broken ribs as her husband. Koume also had what appeared to be a broken leg and symptoms of a crushed foot. However, as Matsudaira observed her injuries, she was deeply concerned for what appeared to the severe concussion that Koume sported. Although she knew it would not cause any lasting memory loss, for the moment Koume honestly had no idea where she was, not to mention who she was.

            "Ow! Who are you people? Who am I?! Shit, I don't remember anything! What do you all want? What the hell happened? Where the hell am I?  Damnit this hurts…" Koume mumbled in a panic.

            "I'll call an ambulance," Sugishita declared as he ran off towards the nearest payphone. Sakura watched longingly after him. He may be a total jerk, but she could always count on him the most when she needed to.

            "Sakura, where..." Yaegashi began, breathing hard and with labor continued, "where are Midori and Kazuo?" Sakura looked at him with utter confusion. What did he mean, "_where are Midori and Kazuo_?" They were there when she had left the room, she remembered that she had told them to go find their parents. 

            "What do you mean? They should be at the house!" Sakura answered,

            "They're not there. Where are they Sakura?" Yaegashi asked a bit more forcefully,

            "That's impossible. They had gone to get you, they would've had to have disappeared into thin air if they weren't there," Sakura continued. Yaegashi's eyes grew wide and his face paled a bit more. 

            "Who are Kazuo and Midori?" Koume interrupted, clearly confused. A look of fear and sadness swept across Yaegashi's face as he pulled Koume close to him. 

            "Matsudaira, Sakura," Yaegashi said slowly as he cradled his confused and agonized wife with his good arm. The two turned their attention to him.

            "Take Momiji to the hospital. T-t-to Ryoko and Kunikida," Yaegashi said slowly and painfully, switching the subject. Momiji's eyes began to tear up as she looked at her two injured colleagues. 

            "I…" Momiji began,

            "Take her there. She'll be the safest in a crowded, well-guarded, well-lit place," Yaegashi said as he began to cough forcefully, blood flying from his mouth. 

Momiji stood rooted to the spot, her mind blank. How was it, she wondered, that even though he had just been in a car crash and his wife practically had amnesia, he still worried about her safety. Why? Momiji stared blankly at him. If she were in his shoes, she wouldn't give a damn about anybody else but herself and Kusanagi, but here he was still trying to help her out. It made no sense. Nothing made sense anymore. She had just been attacked by her husband, her daughter was missing, she had been forced to hide in the woods in the park for a day, Ryoko and Mr. Kunikida were at the hospital for some reason, and now Valencia was hunting her down? Nothing made sense. Absolutely nothing. Suddenly, she felt herself being pulled forcefull from behind. She wheeled around to find Matsudaira yanking her arm in the direction of her car.

"Ms. Matsudiara…?" Momiji trailed,

"Sakura and Sugishita will stay here until the ambulance arrives. In the meantime, we're going to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Kunikida," Matsudaira explained in an eerily calm voice. Momiji simply followed in compliance, and got into the car. As they sped away, she took one last look behind her at the carnage. One last look at Sugishita, who was still talking on the phone to the emergency operator. One last look at Sakura, who was just as beaten up and bloody as she [Momiji] was, and yet trying to ease Koume's panic and pain with several prayer ofundas. One last look at Yaegashi, who was holding his wife and crying. 

"All because of me," Momiji said softly. 

"What did you say Momiji?" Matsudaira asked as she stole a quick glance at the younger woman. Momiji couldn't find the words to respond as she broke down into hysterical tears.

*          *          *

            The drive to the hospital was a long and tear-filled one. Momiji ended crying so hard that she became sick, and Matsudaira had to make a short pit-stop to allow Momiji to empty the contents of her stomach into a garbage bin. 

            "Why me God?" Momiji asked herself when they finally reached the hospital. Matsudaira loaned Momiji her lab coat so as to give Momiji a bit more coverage than what she had on. Also to give everyone the impression that Momiji was there to visit someone, rather than letting her walk through the door looking like she had just had a fight with a lawnmower and lost. 

            Walking quickly to the room where the Kunikidas were located, Matsudaira rapped on the door. Diatetsu Kunikida answered.

            "Ms. Matsudaira…MOMIJI?!" Kunikida exclaimed in shock. Matsudaira winced at the noise and, putting a finger to her lips in a motion of silence, pushed Momiji and herself through into the room. Ryoko looked up in alarm, as did a heavily bandaged Makoto. 

            "Mrs. Kusanagi?" Makoto asked in confusion as he took in the sight of the disheveled woman who stood in front of him. 

            "What's going on?" Ryoko asked as she stood up and looked at the three people standing in front of her. 

            "We need a place to hide for now," Matsudiara explained calmly.

            "Oh?" Kunikida said seriously,

            "She's being hunted."

            "By whom?"

            "Valencia and…" Matsudaira began again, although she felt it too difficult to continue.

            "And…?" Ryoko asked,

            "My husband," Momiji said in a slow and quiet whisper before sitting down in a chair, where she resumed sobbing.

**The End of Chapter 7**

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Well, was it worth the wait? Hopefully so, I know I kinda get into the gory and depressing in this fic. A major switch for me, seeing as how I write humor fics. Anyways, this chapter was delayed by me, not Schally. If you have any ideas to present to us, by all means please review. Or visit Schally's Blue Seed Page and see us at the Blue Seed message board. I post daily there, and we both will listen to any and all comments. **Please review!**


	8. Chaotic Collage: Opal

Author's notes – Hey minna, we're back with another exciting chapter! This one would be Schally's doing, so all credit and chaos go towards her. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, we love reading what you have to say. Please don't stop, we love feedback! Schally's currently busy with the job world while I (Merc) am very busy with my new college life at Purdue University. GO BOILERMAKERS!!!

Rated – R for lots of swearing and tons of violence

By – Merc and Schally

Chapter 8 By - Schally****

****

**Chartreuse Seed**

            "Here we are again," he mused, and Kaede said nothing.

            She was acutely aware of the irony of the situation.  She stood next to him much as she had years before, calm, resolute, and they both watched as Akina approached in an electric haze of blue light.  A circle of blood surrounded her, and it was the only thing that kept them apart.  Here, in the depths of the Susano-oh Memorial, they stood surrounded by talismans and charms that had been hung by worshippers and visitors over the years.

            "I am truly sorry I had to bring the girl here against your will," he continued, still smirking, still overconfident.

            "A pity you can't touch her," Kaede said, and his expression faltered.

            It was a mythological game of chess and, for the time being, the black king and the white queen were in checkmate.  He had attempted to exert his influence over Akina's mitama, turning it chartreuse, and Kaede had responded by using a tactic that she had used on her sister so many years ago—she erected an energy barrier, impregnable even to the King of the Arigami.

            His right armblade emerged halfway, but he held his temper.  "Your power is weakening.  You are no longer the Kushinada."  He glanced down at her arm, which was readily dripping with blood.  "You cannot keep up the blood barrier forever."

            Kaede didn't answer.  It took almost all of her concentration to keep the energy barrier erected.  In truth, she was merely guiding Akina's dormant powers as the Kushinada.  Still, she couldn't afford to have her attention divided.

            He hesitated, reaching out with his left hand to touch the barrier.  As it had before, it repelled his touch.  He frowned.  "So the Kushinada views me as a threat.  Perhaps she would feel differently if she were approached by her father."

            "He's a perfect soul now," Kaede said coolly.  "You're having trouble controlling him as it is.  I wouldn't push my luck if I were you."

            His armblade retracted in response.  "The bloodline of the Kushinada will be eradicated and my nation of arigami will rise up once again.  I mistook you to be the Kushinada, but no matter—it was a slight oversight, and it will be corrected very soon."

            "Oversight?"  Kaede allowed a small smile to curve her lips.  In truth, with age she had acquired a bit of his own dry nature.  "But Lord Murakumo, are you not perfect?"

            "You have changed much, Kushinada," he said stiffly.

            Her smile faded into neutrality.  "And you haven't changed at all."

*          *          *

            Disasters were nothing new to Yaegashi.  Being married to Koume, he had quickly mastered the art of multi-tasking in a crisis.  Currently he was focused on formulating a plan, not choking on his own bodily fluids, and answering his amnesiac wife's hundred questions, though his priorities were not necessarily in that order.

            In an odd way, Koume's present condition afforded her a level of detachment which he found almost comforting.  Her reaction to the news--"I have kids?  And they're missing?  I'm gonna kick some ass!"—was more comforting than her previous tears, certainly.  Her pleasure at her own knowledge of weapons ("I know how to use a rocket launcher?  Hell yeah!") added some levity to an otherwise miserable situation.

            The TAC was all concentrated in the general hospital, and both he and Kunikida agreed that _that_ was not a good idea.  He and Koume were in no condition to move around, a fact which frustrated both of them tremendously, and Yaegashi found himself acquiescing, reluctantly, when they were both told to stay put.  They had worked out a crude battle plan for the time being: Matsudaria, accompanied by Sugishita and Takeuchi, would head to the lab and gather the equipment.  Yaegashi and Matsudaria had worked out several means of dealing with the new chartreuse seeds—all were experimental and untested, but at this point, they had little choice.  Kunikida, Sakura and Momiji were to stay with Koume and Yaegashi.  Though Kunikida had thought it unwise to risk putting the damaged couple in jeopardy in the event of an attack, Yaegashi had been vehement.

            It was like this that they sat together in silence, Kunikida sipping occasionally from a cup of lukewarm coffee while Sakura paced in front of the charm-plastered window distractedly.  Momiji's weeping had finally subsided after a few pointed remarks from Koume and she now sat with her hands in her lap, twisting anxiously at the fabric of her nightgown.  Her face was ashen and she often looked as if she were going to be violently ill.

            Yaegashi suspected that Momiji's condition wasn't just because of emotional stress.  She, too, had once carried a mitama.  Surely the force that was affecting Kusanagi and Valencia was also affecting her.  Matsudaria had confirmed this suspicion with him in hushed tones before she left.  

            "I don't get it," Sakura said finally, breaking the long silence.  "Why are they after Momiji?  She's not the sacrifice girl anymore."

            "I don't understand it myself," Yaegashi said, propping up a bit.  "I think the fact that Momiji used to carry a mitama has something to do with it, but there just isn't enough information."

            "It's okay," Momiji muttered.  "Better me than…"  She shivered, and Kunikida put his jacket around her shoulders.

            Momiji seemed to be operating on the assumption that she was the target, not Akina, and that Akina was safe because she was being used as bait.  It wasn't completely unreasonable of her to think so—she was usually the target, after all.  But Yaegashi suspected strongly that instead of Akina being a means to get to Momiji it was actually the other way around.  And when he looked into Momiji's downcast eyes he didn't have the heart to tell her.

*          *          *

            Takeuchi and Sugishita stood, arms crossed, outside the laboratory door.  Matsudaria had requested several moments to think and they had both eagerly obliged her—biotechnology was neither of their fortes.  Takeuchi glanced over at her companion and allowed a small smile to curve her lips.  The more things changed, it seemed, the more they stayed the same.

            "Like old times," Sugishita said, preempting her, and she gave a soft laugh.

            "Yes, it is, isn't it?"

            "Well, not quite.  I'm not hitting on you."

            "—Yet," she said, and he smiled.  She smiled back.  There it was.  A girl (well, the right girl) could get lost in those brown eyes.  But Sugishita had never recovered from the glitzy American whirlwind that was Sakura Yamazaki.  Not really.  The flirting, the charm, it all seemed half-hearted, almost perfunctory as if it served as some sort of distraction.  Even now, years later, there was a sadness about him and she wanted to take him into her arms and ask him, "Why, what's wrong?"  But she was married and a mother.  And he was someone she used to date a long time ago, a man she'd never really let herself know, and it was the past.  Life was strange, sometimes.

            Instead, she inclined her head, causing her long bangs to fall away from her face so she could look at him with both eyes.

            "Isn't it weird how it's the end of the world and you find yourself thinking about little things that really don't matter?" he asked.

            "I know exactly how that is," she told him, and she did—they hadn't expected to survive against Susano-oh all those years ago.  They had been prepared to die.  "But those little things… they do matter."

            He seemed to consider this.  "She called me Sugi-chan," he said.  He smiled, and it didn't quite reach his eyes.  "But that was before she said she wanted to forget me.  And it's funny, you know, because I never wanted to forget her."

            He turned to her, and before she realized it she was hugging him as she'd imagined before, feeling the stress eek out of his frame as he squeezed her gently (and amazingly platonically).

            "Sugi, no one could ever forget you," she said.  And it felt right.

*          *          *

            Matsudaria blinked once, disbelieving, as the fax machine spit out one offering, then another, then another.  Prior to her visit, Valencia had e-mailed her a list of correspondents—Scientists that she knew, many of whom had been colleagues of her ill-fated father.  Matsudaria had contacted all if them in hopes of obtaining information, any sort of mitama research that might prove helpful.  Several had responded, but the data they had graciously offered paled in comparison to the information she obtained from the biotechnology laboratory where Samuel Delmar worked.  Or at least, where he _had_ worked before he destroyed two of the main labs, fleeing with an unknown number of samples.

            Samuel Delmar.  One of Doctor Tachibana's research assistants.  He had been working at the biotechnology lab until very recently—less than a month ago.  Had he continued the doctor's mitama research?  Did his disappearance have any connection to the sudden rash of chartreuse mitamas?         

            But the pieces weren't fitting together.  She still didn't understand the basic components of the puzzle.  How were the mitama being affected in the first place?  Valencia didn't even _have_ a mitama anymore, not until the appearance of her own chartreuse seed, and Kusanagi's mitamas had been original blue mitamas—not the orange seeds created by Doctor Tachibana.

            Matsudaria scooped up the sheets of paper and began leafing through them.  After the second arigami conflict was resolved Kusanagi had opened up to her more about his condition.  She recalled that he had told her that there were occasions where his mitama would become activated against his will, usually by the presence of a powerful arigami, causing him incredible pain and duress.  Could it be that a powerful arigami was somehow manipulating those who had experienced mitama contact, much as the arigami had attempted to force their will on Kusanagi before?  Did Delmar tie into it?  And if so, how?

            "Ryoko!  Sugishita!"  She called, settling down at a desk.  She'd stick to the science, for now.  It was time to leave the mystery to the detectives.

*          *          *

            "There's something I didn't tell you," Momiji said.

            Sakura stopped pacing, glancing at Momiji so sharply that the others were inclined to follow suit.

            "What?" Sakura snapped.  The question was directed at Momiji.

            Momiji rose to her feet, slowly, her head still hanging.  "Before, I ran away… I left Akina by herself and hid in the forest…"

            "Anyone in your position might have done the same thing," Yaegashi said, hoping to reassure her.  "Nobody expected that—"

            "Mr. Yaegashi, please."  Momiji backed away from the group, her head still hanging.  Her hands were clenched at her sides.  Yaegashi and Kunikida exchanged a look.

            "What?" Sakura repeated, and her voice had an edge to it.

            "Before, when I ran away…  I was scared, but that's not why I ran."  Momiji twisted her fingers around the fabric of her soiled nightgown.  "I ran because deep inside, it was burning, and I wanted—"  She gave a little sob, but quickly regained her composure.  "I wanted to kill my daughter."

            Sakura tensed.  "Momiji—"

            "And now it burns again, where my mitama is, and I want to kill you."

            There was a slight hesitation—disbelief, perhaps—and the group suddenly moved as one.  Kunikida jumped from his chair as Sakura pulled a talisman forward, her eyes narrowed.  Yaegashi had already moved protectively towards Koume but he, like Kunikida, was uncertain.

            "Can you control it?" Sakura asked.

            Momiji lifted her head a little, biting her lip.  "It's getting harder," she said.  "I can feel it—"

            "What can you feel, Momiji?" Kunikida asked, reaching towards her.

            "My mitama, it's—" her words cut off abruptly as she let out a shrill shriek and collapsed to her knees.  Kunikida moved to help her and she screamed, "Get away!  Don't touch me!" so fiercely that he froze in his tracks.  She gave a shudder and curled up, hugging her knees tightly to her chest.  

            "Will you be able to control yourself?" Yaegashi asked worriedly.

            Momiji winced, her fingers tightening around her legs.  "Get out."

            "Momiji," Kunikida began, reaching to touch her arm.  

            Momiji let out another shriek.  "I said don't touch me!  Don't touch me!  Get away from me!"

            "Everybody out," Sakura warned.  "I'm going to seal her in this room.  I'll stay and make sure she doesn't get out or hurt herself.  You do what you have to do."  She began to chant under her breath

            Yeagashi nodded and, with the help of Kunikida, he and Koume made their way to the hallway.  

            Inside, Sakura quickly sealed the door.  Momiji reacted as an arigami would—she cringed away from the wards and, trembling, crept to the center of the room so she was the furthest distance possible from the door ward and the window ward.

She had paled tremendously, but in spite of her pallor determination was etched across her face.  She might have looked pathetic to the untrained eye, but Sakura felt a burst of triumph—spiritually, Momiji was fighting tooth and nail.  Being from the Kushinada bloodline seemed to have afforded her some degree of defense that neither Kusanagi nor Valencia had, however, Sakura was certain that she couldn't hold out indefinitely.

"Is this… what it feels like… to be… an arigami?" Momiji whispered.  She looked up at Sakura, stricken.

"Just relax.  Concentrate on your senses."

"Sakura… don't… let me hurt anyone.  If I lose control… just…"  Momiji heaved a sigh.  "You know what… to do…"

The Shinto Priestess said nothing.

**The End of Chapter 8**

Chapter 8 was brought to you by Schally! I hope you all enjoyed it, she spent a lot of time writing it.  As usual, if you have any ideas to present to us, by all means please review. Or visit Schally's Blue Seed Page and see us at the Blue Seed message board. I post daily there, and we both will listen to any and all comments. **AND FOR THE LOVE OF MURAKUMO, PLEASE REVIEW!!!**


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